A Guide to Flora and Fauna of the World

Robert Zhao’s artistic practice involves engaging critically with science and nature to reveal the myriad ways that humans have manipulated both to suit their purposes. In this work, the artist asks to what extent we can trust photography and scientific truth by offering an “alternative encyclopedia” of plants and animals that have undergone aesthetic and genetic modification by humans.

The project was spurred by his initial curiosity about the scientific name of the ordinary goldfish. Finding out it has none because it is a genetically modified creature, Zhao sought to document other animals and plants that have undergone, or are being considered for, genetic manipulation. Although presented with the seriousness of a scientific tome, the work merges fact and fiction, blurring the lines between natural and man-made, science and contemporary art.